OFFICIAL: Julen Lopetegui is Real Madrid's new coach

OFFICIAL: Julen Lopetegui is Real Madrid's new coach

No hace ni un mes que Lopetegui renovó como seleccionador español hasta el 2020 / | Perform

Spain's coach, who just signed a new deal until 2020, has signed a three-year deal with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid have announced that the current Spain coach, Julen Lopetegui, will be their new head coach. Lopetegui will sign a three-year contract with Real Madrid following this summer's World Cup.

Real Madrid made the official announcement first thing on Tuesday afternoon through the club's media channels whilst Lopetegui is preparing the Spain team in Krasnodar ahead of their opening match at the World Cup against Portugal on Friday.

Lopetegui recently renewed his contract with the Spanish FA on the 22nd May. That new deal was to run until 2020, the year of the next European Championship.

During his time as a player, Lopetegui was a goalkeeper in Real Madrid's academy, although he was most successful at Logroñes (1991-94) until he signed for Barcelona (1994-97).

COACHING FC PORTO

As a coach he's managed Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid Castilla, Porto and was the coach of Spain's U19, U20, U21 and now the senior side. He's been working under the RFEF since 2016.

Real Madrid have been searching for a substitute for Zinedine Zidane since the French man announced he was leaving the club following the Champions League final victory over Liverpool in Kiev.

In the last few weeks we've seen lots of names linked with the job. Juventus' Massimiliano Allegri, Germany's coach Joachim Low, Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham Hotspurs' Mauricio Pochettino were all considered at one point or another.

Added to that list were the names of people who either work at Real Madrid or who have a great history with the club such as: Michel Gonzalez, Michael Laudrup, Fernando Hierro and Guti. 

Real Madrid's announcement

Real Madrid officially named Julen Lopetegui as their new coach in a brief announcement via their media channels: 

"Julen Lopetegui will be Real Madrid's coach following the celebration of this summer's World Cup in Russia.

 

Real Madrid can confirm that Julen Lopetegui will be the first team coach for the next three seasons.

 

Julen Lopetegui will join the club following Spain's participation in the World Cup after leading the national side for the last two years."